The Principality of Abkhazia emerged as a separate feudal entity in the 15th-16th centuries, amid the civil wars in the Kingdom of Georgia that concluded with the dissolution of the unified Georgian monarchy. The principality retained a degree of autonomy under Ottoman and then Russian rule, but was eventually absorbed into the Russian Empire in 1864.
Gagra is a town in Abkhazia/Georgia, sprawling for 5 km on the northeast coast of the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. Its subtropical climate made Gagra a popular health resort in Imperial Russian and Soviet times.
The Abkhazians or Abkhazes are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea. A large Abkhaz diaspora population resides in Turkey, the origins of which lie in the Caucasian War in the late 19th century. Many Abkhaz also live in other parts of the former Soviet Union, particularly in Russia and Ukraine.
The Kingdom of Abkhazia, was a medieval feudal state in the Caucasus which was established in the 780s. Through dynastic succession, it was united in 1008 with the Kingdom of the Iberians, forming the Kingdom of Georgia.
Sukhumi is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the capital and largest city of the Republic of Abkhazia, a partially recognised state that most countries consider a part of Georgia. The city has been controlled by Abkhazia since the Abkhazian war in 1992–93. The city, which has an airport, is a port, major rail junction and a holiday resort because of its beaches, sanatoriums, mineral-water spas and semitropical climate. It is also a member of the International Black Sea Club.
The House of Sharvashidze or Shervashidze was a Georgian-Abkhazian ruling family of the Principality of Abkhazia. The family was later recognized as one of the princely families of the Russian Empire at the request of King Heraclius II of Georgia in accordance with the list of Georgian noblemen presented in the Treaty of Georgievsk.
Aslan-Bey Chachba, from the House of Sharvashidze, was a prince of the Principality of Abkhazia from 1808 to 1810. He was the eldest son of Prince Kelesh Ahmed-Bey Sharvashidze.
Sefer Ali-Bey Sharvashidze was a prince of the Principality of Abkhazia in 1810–21. He was the youngest son of Kelesh Ahmed-Bey Sharvashidze.
Kelesh Ahmed-Bey (Kelesh-Bey) Sharvashidze-Chachba (1747–1808) was the head of state of the Principality of Abkhazia from the 1780s to 1808. Kelesh-Bey was the son of Manuchar Sharvashidze.
Manuchar I, or Manch I, from the house of Sharvashidze, was a prince of the Principality of Abkhazia from circa 1730 to 1757. Manuchar was forcefully deposed from the throne by Ottoman Turkey and sent into exile to that empire, where he converted to Islam together with his brothers Levan, Shirvan and Zurab.
Abzhywa is one of the seven historical regions in Abkhazia, and accordingly one of the seven stars on Flag of Abkhazia represents Abzhywa. Local residents belong to ethnographic group of Абжуйцы.
The history of Abkhazia, a region in the South Caucasus, spans more than 5,000 years from its settlement by the lower-paleolithic hunter-gatherers to its present status as a partially recognized state.
The Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia was a short-lived republic within the Caucasus region of the Soviet Union that covered the territory of Abkhazia, and existed from 31 March 1921 to 19 February 1931. Formed in the aftermath of the Red Army invasion of Georgia in 1921, it was independent until 16 December 1921 when it agreed to a treaty that united it with the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. The SSR Abkhazia was similar to an autonomous Soviet republic, though it retained nominal independence from Georgia and was given certain features only full union republics had, like its own military units. Through its status as a "treaty republic" with Georgia, Abkhazia joined the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, which united Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian SSRs into one federal unit when the latter was formed in 1922. The SSR Abkhazia was abolished in 1931 and replaced with the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Georgian SSR.
Pskhu is a village in the Sukhumi District of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. Its population was about 150 with ethnic Russians constituting a majority. The village is situated in the eponymous valley between the Greater Caucasus and Bzyb ranges. The river Bzyb and several of its tributaries flow near the village. The valley was inhabited by the Abazins tribe which was one of the last peoples of the Caucasus to be conquered by Russia. After their subjection in 1864 almost all of them escaped to Turkey; many perished at the Black Sea coast from hunger and malaria, during the transportation to Ottoman Empire. Pskhu was the only settlement in the Transcaucasia to be occupied by Wehrmacht during the Battle of the Caucasus of World War II in the autumn of 1942.
Many inhabitants of Abkhazia are Orthodox Christians, With significant minorities adhering to Islam and the Abkhaz neopaganism, or the "Abkhazian traditional religion". The influence of this last has always remained strong and has been experiencing a revival through the 1990s and 2000s.
The demographics of Abkhazia include population density, ethnicity, education level, health, socioeconomic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It covers 8,665 square kilometres (3,346 sq mi) and has a population of around 245,000. Its capital and largest city is Sukhumi.
Aleksandr Konstantinovich Chachba-Sharvashidze was a painter from the Russian Empire and member of the Chachba- Sharvashidze princely dynasty of Abkhazia. He was the grandson of the Abkhazian ruler Sefer Ali-Bey. His father Constantine was part of the 1832 conspiracy of Georgian nobility against Russian rule. Following the death of his cousin, Giorgi Sharvashidze in 1918, Alexander was the locum tenens of the Abkhazian throne.
Prince Giorgi Mikhailovitch Sharvashidze, titular Prince of Abkhazia was the son of Mikhail, Prince of Abkhazia. He was educated at the Page Corps, Saint Petersburg. Aide-de-camp to Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia 1866.
Rostom Sharvashidze was a ruler of the Principality of Abkhazia of the 18th century, who ruled c. 1700–1730. A member of House Sharvashidze, he governed only a third of the principality, the rest of Abkhazia being divided among his two brothers. During his reign, he had to face an increasing Ottoman influence, while engaging in a losing struggle against Samegrelo and a war against Imereti.
